Why I Protest: Ricky Smith on the Different Narratives of Protesting

Ricky Smith is no stranger to protests. He was in Ferguson, Missouri, following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, and attended protests in Cleveland after the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. When the well-known founder of Cleveland’s RAKE (Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere) went to last weekend’s protests following the death of George Floyd, it was with the intention of keeping the narrative focused on understanding one another, not on violence and blame. Smith also helped clean up the downtown area after the protests. He shares his experiences here.

I purposely stood back. I didn’t want to be the RAKE guy or the kindness guy, I wanted to just observe. And as I was standing there, I saw these [suburban white] kids who wanted to put the flag at half-mast. You could tell they wanted to do something. They just didn’t know what to do. They have every right to be upset too; they’re allies. But even in protesting, we’re still seen differently, even just our narratives are different. There’s still a racial divide, even in a protest. I just kind of went, “Hey, let’s not do that. If you do that, it’s going to be blamed ultimately on Black Lives Matter and black protesters."

There’s no handbook on how to protest and for the right reasons. A protest is to up rise and say, “Hey, this is me, and I want my voice to be heard.” The term silent protest and peaceful protest are kind of contradictory in itself. At the core of these protests man, we just want equality. I can’t stop those people from [destroying property], but if their anger comes from years of feeling like they’re not being heard, then who am I to tell someone how to deal with their anger?

I even joined a drum circle [at the protest] and learned a dance. I posted it [on social media] just to show people that even while the news, and people on their own, were taking photos and videos of the cars on fire, I’m literally 40 feet away and this is what I see.

I was actually very reluctant to clean up, and not in a sense that I don’t love my city. I didn't want the narrative to be, “They should have been more like him.” Like, here’s this black guy cleaning up. They should have been more like him, not rioting and looting. They might be surprised to know I was out there protesting.

It's the middle of the road people who I would love to have understand what’s going on. To not see race is to not see racism. Just know that during this time, you are doing things and getting things that people who look like you aren’t receiving. To me, that’s the more realistic goal. I hope people can come together and just understand a little more. It’s OK to see colors. It's OK to embrace our differences.